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Ernst: Sarasota County workers need tough ethics code

Published: Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 4:48 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 4:48 p.m.

The hiring of an ethics coordinator for Sarasota County government goes a long way toward addressing evidence of cronyism and corruption, as well as retaliation against those who questioned the first two. If nothing else, it formalizes the admission that there are pervasive problems.

In Steve Uebelacker, a former Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent, the public and county employees presumably will have an advocate anytime they see something amiss. He may be a busy man.

For dark humor, please refer to Uebelacker's quote in a Herald-Tribune article on Sept. 15: "Everybody is going to know what's expected. We're going to take the ambiguity out of jobs."

In other words, employees who weren't sure before will now know that, yes, they are supposed to act in an ethical manner. No more funneling business to their friends. No more cheating with the county credit card. No more getting special favors from vendors. Some of this is so obvious, it should be listed right under "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal."

A lot of people criticized the Sheriff's Office when its investigators identified no criminal activity among the scores of irregularities found in county purchasing and contracts.

However, just because something fails the smell test — and the appearance test — doesn't make it a crime in the legal sense. Prosecutors may have to show intent. They may have to show that someone profited directly from a particular action. Ethical lapses often do not reach that threshold. They're more subtle.

That doesn't make them any less damaging to the public's confidence in fair government.

In early August, a coalition of organizations submitted suggestions for a county ethics code.

A good example of the type of reform the coalition supports would be a two-year ban preventing any former county employee from lobbying county government on behalf of his new private employer.

It's certainly not illegal for a county planner, for instance, to quit his job and go to work for a private developer. But let's say he's the one who put together the technical aspects of a county land-use plan that becomes the blueprint for development in an area. Soon after he quits his county job, he appears before the county commissioners, representing a developer and insisting that whatever ideas the developer has mesh with the land-use plan. He should know; he put it together, right?

Anyone who opposes that development, rightly or wrongly, cannot help but suspect that the former county planner, anticipating that he would soon work elsewhere, slipped in some language to help his future employer.

The two-year ban, embedded in an ethics code, would allay some of those misgivings.

Among other suggestions, the coalition recommended complete neutrality in awarding contracts; a ban on gifts from those doing business with the county; and a curtailing of social relationships between employees and those who do business with the county.

The signatories were: Citizens for Responsible Government, Control Growth Now, Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, ManaSota-88, Siesta Key Community Inc., Better Government Association of Sarasota County and Citizens for Sensible Growth.

Their recommendations would be a good starting point for Uebelacker. He'll probably have plenty of other help, as well as ideas of his own.

Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis hired Uebelacker.

The measure of the ethicist's success will be whether he can concoct more than an interim code. It will need teeth, permanent ones. And Uebelacker or his successor will have to have the appetite to use them.

<p>The hiring of an ethics coordinator for Sarasota County government goes a long way toward addressing evidence of cronyism and corruption, as well as retaliation against those who questioned the first two. If nothing else, it formalizes the admission that there are pervasive problems.</p><p>In Steve Uebelacker, a former Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent, the public and county employees presumably will have an advocate anytime they see something amiss. He may be a busy man.</p><p>For dark humor, please refer to Uebelacker's quote in a Herald-Tribune article on Sept. 15: "Everybody is going to know what's expected. We're going to take the ambiguity out of jobs."</p><p>In other words, employees who weren't sure before will now know that, yes, they are supposed to act in an ethical manner. No more funneling business to their friends. No more cheating with the county credit card. No more getting special favors from vendors. Some of this is so obvious, it should be listed right under "Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal."</p><p>A lot of people criticized the Sheriff's Office when its investigators identified no criminal activity among the scores of irregularities found in county purchasing and contracts.</p><p>However, just because something fails the smell test — and the appearance test — doesn't make it a crime in the legal sense. Prosecutors may have to show intent. They may have to show that someone profited directly from a particular action. Ethical lapses often do not reach that threshold. They're more subtle.</p><p>That doesn't make them any less damaging to the public's confidence in fair government.</p><p>In early August, a coalition of organizations submitted suggestions for a county ethics code.</p><p>A good example of the type of reform the coalition supports would be a two-year ban preventing any former county employee from lobbying county government on behalf of his new private employer.</p><p>It's certainly not illegal for a county planner, for instance, to quit his job and go to work for a private developer. But let's say he's the one who put together the technical aspects of a county land-use plan that becomes the blueprint for development in an area. Soon after he quits his county job, he appears before the county commissioners, representing a developer and insisting that whatever ideas the developer has mesh with the land-use plan. He should know; he put it together, right?</p><p>Anyone who opposes that development, rightly or wrongly, cannot help but suspect that the former county planner, anticipating that he would soon work elsewhere, slipped in some language to help his future employer.</p><p>The two-year ban, embedded in an ethics code, would allay some of those misgivings.</p><p>Among other suggestions, the coalition recommended complete neutrality in awarding contracts; a ban on gifts from those doing business with the county; and a curtailing of social relationships between employees and those who do business with the county.</p><p>The signatories were: Citizens for Responsible Government, Control Growth Now, Coalition of Neighborhood Associations, ManaSota-88, Siesta Key Community Inc., Better Government Association of Sarasota County and Citizens for Sensible Growth.</p><p>Their recommendations would be a good starting point for Uebelacker. He'll probably have plenty of other help, as well as ideas of his own.</p><p>Interim County Administrator Terry Lewis hired Uebelacker. </p><p>The measure of the ethicist's success will be whether he can concoct more than an interim code. It will need teeth, permanent ones. And Uebelacker or his successor will have to have the appetite to use them.</p><p><i>Eric Ernst's column runs Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at eric.ernst@heraldtribune.com or (941) 486-3073.</i></p>